Feel like the same kids are participating all the time? Here are some ideas to make sure everyone stays accountable.

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1. PARticipation cards

Cut a bunch of notecards in half and ask each student to write his/her name on one. Pull cards from the top envelope to call on students and then move them to the bottom. Once every card has been moved to the bottom, I move the whole stack back to the top. This makes everyone accountable for answering.

2. BALL TOSS

Buy 3 or 4 squishy balls from the dollar bin at Target. Anytime kids are unwilling to participate or low on energy, make them catch the ball before they can answer a question. ​I'm not sure why it works, but

it can make a class go from the sound of chirping crickets to sounding more like a baseball stadium in no time flat. Other times, I make the whole class stand and after each person has caught the ball and participated, s/he gets to sit down. ​We know how important physical activity is for students to learn, so any time you can get them moving, the better!

3. WHEEL DECIDE

A co-worker showed me this one. (Thanks, Heather!) The free website is called Wheel Decide and it can be used in a lot of different ways. Currently, my students sit in tables of 4 and each

student has a number, so I created a wheel with the numbers 1-4 in it. We use the wheel to decide which person will start an activity at the table, which person will collect materials for the group, or which person will be the group spokesperson after an activity.

The wheels are so easy to edit, that you could create and use them for a lot of different activities, but if participation accountability is something you're working on, try making a wheel with everyone's name in it.

Next week, we are beginning a unit on music and dance and I made a wheel with the different latin styles (Reggaeton, Norteño, Salsa, Merengue, etc.). I plan to have each group spin the wheel to find out which style it will research and present!